José Antonio Jiménez Salas

José Antonio Jiménez Salas (10 March 1916 – 15 November 2000)^[1] was a Spanish professor of civil engineering and an elected academic of the Spanish Royal Academy of Sciences.

José Antonio Jiménez Salas
Born	(1916-03-10)10 March 1916 Zaragoza, Spain
Died	15 November 2000(2000-11-15) (aged 84) Madrid, Spain
Alma mater	Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros de Caminos, Canales y Puertos
Awards	Grand Cross of the Order of Civil Merit (1974) Medal of Honour for the Promotion of Invention (Spanish: Medalla de Honor al Fomento de la Invención) (1994)
Scientific career
Fields	Civil Engineering
Institutions	Sociedad Española de Mecánica del Suelo e Ingeniería Geotécnica Sociedad Española de Mecánica de Rocas

Life and career

Jiménez Salas was born in Zaragoza in 1916. He attended a Marist Brothers (Spanish: Congregación de los Hermanos Maristas) school in Zaragoza, before completing his initial education at IES San Isidro after his family moved to Madrid. After completing his high school studies, he studied at the School of Civil Engineering (Spanish: Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros de Caminos, Canales y Puertos, ETSICCP) in Madrid.^[2]

His studies were interrupted by the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in which he fought after enlisting in Zaragoza in 1936. He returned to his studies after the war and graduated as a Civil Engineer in 1942, as the second-placed student in a class of eighteen.^[1]

Between 1942 and 1943, he studied Applied Geology and Soil Mechanics at the Technical University of Munich and TU Wien on a scholarship, returning to Spain in 1943. After returning to Spain, Jiménez Salas was Professor of Bridges, Structures and Geotechnics at the ETSICCP, before becoming a Senior Professor of Geotechnics and Foundations.^[1]

In addition to his work in geotechnical engineering, he was heavily involved with the creation of the Spanish Society of Soil Mechanics,^[3] and is notable as the principal author of a series of books on geotechnical engineering and foundations, published in three volumes between 1971 and 1981.^[4][5][6]

He received the Grand Cross of the Order of Civil Merit in 1974, and the Medal of Honour for the Promotion of Invention (Spanish: Medalla de Honor al Fomento de la Invención) from the Spanish Government in 1994. He died in Madrid in November 2000. His son, Javier Jiménez Sendín, is a professor of engineering and a notable researcher in the field of fluid mechanics and turbulence.^[7]

References

1. "Real Academia de la Historia Biografía: José Antonio Jiménez Salas" [Royal Academy of History Biography: José Antonio Jiménez Salas] (in Spanish). Retrieved 10 December 2022.
2. Rodríguez Ortiz, J.Mª. (2017). Semblanza del Catedrático y Académico, Don José Antonio Jiménez Salas [Portrait of Professor and Academic, Mr. José Antonio Jiménez Salas] (PDF). Academy of Exact, Physical and Natural Sciences (in Spanish). Madrid: Polytechnic University of Madrid. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
3. "Obituario: José Antonio Jiménez Salas, académico" [Obituary: José Antonio Jiménez Salas, academic]. El País (in Spanish). Madrid. 16 November 2000. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
4. Jiménez Salas, J.A.; de Justo Alpañes, J.L. (1975). Geotécnia y Cimientos I: Propiedades de los suelos y de las rocas(2a edicion) [Geotechnics and Foundations I: Properties of soils and rocks (2nd edition)] (in Spanish). Madrid: Editorial Rueda. ISBN 84-7207-008-5.
5. Jiménez Salas, J.A.; de Justo Alpañes, J.L.; Serrano Gonzalez, A.A. (1981). Geotécnia y Cimientos II: Mecanica del suelo y de las rocas (2a edicion) [Geotechnics and Foundations II: Mechanics of the soils and rocks (2nd edition)] (in Spanish). Madrid: Editorial Rueda. ISBN 84-7207-021-2.
6. Jiménez Salas, J.A. (1980). Geotécnia y Cimientos III: Cimentaciones, excavaciones y aplicaciones de la geotecnia (parte 1 y 2) [Geotechnics and Foundations III: Foundations, excavations and applications of geotechnics (in 2 volumes)] (in Spanish). Madrid: Editorial Rueda. ISBN 84-7207-017-4.
7. "La Real Academia de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales de España: Prof. Javier Jiménez Sendín" [The Royal Academy of Exact, Physical and Natural Sciences of Spain: Prof. Javier Jiménez Sendín] (PDF) (in Spanish). Retrieved 10 December 2022.